Meditation Books

There are not words to describe how wonderful this books is. It can help you heal the pain in your life. Just keep an open mind.

Tulku Thondup has once again extracted the essence of traditional Buddhist techniques and made them accessible to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. For those who would like to attend one of Tulku Thondup's Workshops on Healing, here is his schedule:
1) Shambhala Center of Washington, DC: March 8 - 10th, 2002 (301) 949 0517
2) Ottawa Shambhala Center, CANADA: May 24 - 26, 2002
(613) 562 5800, poste 1783
3) Karme Choling, Vermont: May 3 - 5th, 2002
(802) 633-2384

Tulku Thondup captures the essence of compassion and healing in what can only be described as a subtle and outstanding book. The exercises in this book help calm both physical and emotional needs. In fact, these meditations are helpful to anyone who wants to increase their peace of mind and sense of personal well-being.

Although rooted in Buddhism, this book will appeal to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. Whoever you are, whatever problems you may face, Tulku Thondup simply wants you feel better...

This book is great for adults but also very readable and appropriate for teenagers and kids too. My two are 9 & 11 and love dipping into the pages in a spare moment. The content helps them to see that God is there for everyone, every day- not just in church on Sundays!

This is a wonderful, intelligent, funny and inspirational devotion book. There is so much wisdom and deep thought packed into each page, that it is a book that you want to read over and over again. I pray that Duncan Banks has a second book in the offing because I will be first in line for a copy of it. There is no doubt in whom Duncan places his life, heart and service. It will give any reader a new insight to God and His love and desire for your life. This book is an excellent book to give to anyone and you truly get more than your money's worth. Thanks Duncan Banks for sharing!

Would you like to have a fun and creative way to do a short Bible study each morning? If the answer is "yes" then "Breakfast with God" may be the book for you. It contains 366 daily Bible studies presented in a breakfast metaphor. Each breakfast starts with orange juice - a specific Bible passage. After the orange juice you head for the big breakfast - a story related to the passage, a personal experience, or other guidance for better understanding the verse in today's world. After the big breakfast is the Continental, a much shorter version of the Big Breakfast for those in a hurry and don't have the time for the full big breakfast. Finally, the breakfast concludes with coffee - a final thought to end your breakfast and direct your mind on a positive path for the day. A delightful book that presents daily Bible study in a way to make it fun for everyone.

Reverend Koyo Kubose's BRIGHT DAWN: Discovering Your Everyday Spirituality is a splendid introduction to basic precepts of Buddhism that can transform one's everyday life.

Describing daily routines, beginning with leaving his bed and going out to run alongside Lake Michigan to greet the rising sun, Kubose illustrates in a gentle and often lighthearted way how we can develop our spiritual life in such ordinary acts as driving a car or putting on our shoes.

This is a Buddhism pathway many of us can easily bring into our lives. We need not adopt the discipline of sitting meditation, traditionally practiced by Buddhist monks and others, to realize a more awakened life. For as Buddha said, there are 84,000 paths to enlightenment.

With BRIGHT DAWN, Kubose offers us these "ordinary" choices for realizing "extraordinary" spirituality everyday. At book's end, the reader feels like they've spent part of a morning with someone who truly knows what a gift every new day is.

While the Ten Commandments of the Judaic-Christian-Islamic traditions are rules to live by, most people don't face down theft, adultery, and murder each day. So how can we maintain regular doses of peace and grace? The beauty of Buddhism is that its principles are designed for everyday life. Man in harmony with himself and his environ-ment is a man who is respectful, observant, appreciative, and wise. Follow Kubose on his morning ritual and open up to a wider view of yourself and the world.

Bright Dawn: Discovering Your Everyday Spirituality is the uplifting personal testimony of Rev. Kubose, who shares his inspiration into the importance of the critical qualities of gratitude and perseverance. Inviting the reader to share in Kubose's experiences and revelations as he prepares for his morning rung along Lake Michigan, before the sun rises, Bright Dawn is a fulfilling meditation upon Buddhist philosophies, the constance of change, and the ongoing spiritual journey toward enlightenment. Written in plain terms, Bright Dawn is a welcome and recommended spiritual text especially for followers and practitioners of Buddhism.

This book is filled with unique insights into the Incarnation. A wonderful, hard-to-put-down book!

L'Engle shows us once again how diverse a writer she is. This book is not bound by time or space, but can take us into worlds yet to be discovered. L'Engle has ways to make even the strangest possibilities come to life, and any person, L'Engle fan or not, will be deeply engrossed in this amazing book

This is my sixth Madeleine L'Engle nonfiction book I've read and it was definately one of the better of the six (even though all of them were exceptional).

"Bright Evening Star" explores childhood and the wonders and mysteries that have haunted all of our imaginations and filled our hearts for as long as we remember. In this, Madeleine transforms faith into being a radical, Child-like journey, rather than a stoic, heady and intellectual debate. This was much needed in my heart and life and took me back to a day where my sister and I would take adventures on our bike in our southern neighborhood, pretending to be going on a trip across the country. It was a wonderful memory that needed to be rekindled and remembered. Thank you so much Madeleine.

(Also, Madeleine's books have a way of meeting you right where you are---this book came perfectly into my life and right along with what God has been laying on my heart lately---honestly, every book can do this if the writer is close enough to God, and since she is, she was able to be the vessel for my own relationship and allowed me to stand in awe of Jesus, the risen Christ, once and again).

Ophuls does a fantastic job of sharing the Dharma without weighing it down with anything extra. He avoids the traps and snares that often hinder the efforts of contemporary teachers from communicating the essence of the Buddha's teachings, and for this he, and his work, should be applauded.

This is a must read for anyone climbing the Mountain of Spirit.

Enjoy it and share it.

In BUDDHA TAKES NO PRISONERS Patrick Ophuls has performed an invaluable service to anyone interested in Buddhist-oriented meditation. This is the best introduction to practice I have ever read. (I am a Zen teacher who has practiced for over twenty years and I highly recommend this book to my students.) The book reflects Ophuls' Theravadan/Vipassana background, but it is general enough to apply to any of the Buddhist traditions. General does not mean superficial. While short (175 pages) the book is remarkably thorough. Ophuls takes the basic tenants of Buddhism and explains them briefly but incisively through the effective use of metaphor and ordinary language. He focuses on the process of meditation.

In a literary world that provides the newcomer with a bewildering array of books on Buddhism and meditation practice, Ophuls' perspective is unique: one, as he says, "of an experienced student rather than a proper teacher." It's a valuable perspective. Not only has Ophuls practiced meditation for over thirty years, he is also a student of Western thought, an author of books on politics and ecology, and someone who has lived a rich and varied life. The wisdom that comes from such a life of study and practice shines through, giving us a profound yet assessable presentation of the Buddha's teaching and guidance as to how to apply those teachings in daily life.

In his introduction, Ophuls states that he often finds traditionally presented explications of Buddha's teachings to be "abstruse" and that his aim is to provide "down-to-earth, colloquial advice to those embarking on the wonderful but challenging journey of meditation." He has succeeded. He succeeds due to the clarity and conciseness of his language and the brevity and directness of his style. For example, he says that when it comes to meditation, "[H]ere are the rules in a nutshell: shut up, sit down, and pay attention." You can't get clearer, more direct, or more accurate than that. As stated, his approach is metaphoric rather than conceptual, which is another key to his success. While he makes use of traditional metaphors, like turning butter into ghee (for purification), his real contribution is the use of original and contemporary ones, like comparing "concentration" to a laser and the meditation process to "untangling a knot." He also offers insightful critiques on contemporary understandings of key Buddhist concepts, like "loving-kindness" for metta and practice as "a path". The tone of the book is humorous, playful, and respectfully irreverent, without ever becoming mean-spirited.

The book is primarily an introduction and guide for those who are interested in a serious practice. Ophuls is not shy about outlining the difficulties of the path, both within our own minds and within the culture in which we live. He is clear that successful practice requires deep commitment and sustained effort but affirms that liberation is there for any of us, if we could only see it, and that meditation is the primary tool for clearing away the dust in our eyes. He neither soft-pedals nor waters down the Buddha's message: the path is neither an intellectual quest nor a self-improvement program but one that aims at a radical transformation of the deeply flawed assumptions and misguided strategies that keep us ensnared in endless cycles of suffering.

Patrick Ophuls has given a great gift to both beginning and experienced buddhist meditators with this book. His is a very frank, funny and thought provoking book, that address's many of the difficulties unique to those of us practicing in the west,in a culture awash in materialism, distraction and delusion. It is both a highly intelligent critique of our times and a straight and simple guide to meditation practice. Not your typical buddhist guidebook.
I had a hard time putting this book down because of the unconventional views and creative metaphors that cut to the heart of Theravadan (and for that matter all buddhist) practice. It's a playful, irreverent and instructive guidebook that's laced with a "take no prisoners" attitude. He warns us not to be mislead by western views of dharma as simply a healing tonic that can make us O.K. with life. Rather he lay's out the unavoidable truth of suffering and directs our motivation to the promise of liberation as both the path and fruit (actually he calls it the "peach") of practice. One of the most valuable aspects of this book is the authors ability to deflate the seriousness by which we can cling to our views and identities as buddhists or spiritual types. He does this through humor and some crazy metaphors like this chapter heading "Meditation is like Cleopatra".

This book does not pander to ideas of easy enlightenment. It is direct in it's message and has the fire of a hard won inner wisdom. Not the kind of wisdom we can learn through books but certainly a great aid and encouragement to the laypersons daunting task. In the last portion of the book the author changes gears and delivers a scathing critique of western cultural values. Historically tracing the roots of ignorance that fuels so much suffering today, making it very clear what western practitioners are up against. Wow, finally someone lays it all out the way he sees it! I loved the frankness and insight here. Chapters on karma,the politics of, and the physics of meditation, make for really interesting reading and contemplation. All this in one book! My sitting group has begun reading the short chapters together and find that they make for good, thought provoking discussions.

This is a very inspiring guidebook for any long time buddhist meditator or curious beginner on the path. There is a spark of courage, and insight that leaps off the page. The author does not mince his words or views and that's what makes it such a refreshing, timely and important contribution.

This book is part of a collection of 4 books that has been mass published and is widely available in local Retail book stores. I have mixed feelings about because this because it is an attempt for him to become more mainstream. That could be good, could be bad.

To me his mind is the greatest ever to have synthesized 4 major religions; Bhuddism, Taoism, Zen and Tantra (to name a few). I have all 4 books of this edition, to include over 40-50 other hardcovers and 20-30 softcovers. I may never read them all....but I justify them because; I consider 10 percent church gross tithing to be astronimically more than what I've will ever spent on his books. In that regard, I don't think that I am a nutcase.

This series, like many that are of late, to my knowledge, is not a unique production. They are extrapolations of speeches from earlier books fused together by members of his present day commune. In other words, some of his verbage is word for word verbatim, other parts are possibly fabricated together by Osho literature experts. The end result is the same, a book filled with beatuiful ideas.

Osho's literature, along with Ghandi, are the only 2 deists who have had libraries dedicated to them in the Indian Parliament. If you are not well versed on Osho, this just gives you an idea of how tremendous his ideas and principles are and what you have been missing. I am not pro-Ghandi by any means, but you can argue that Osho's voice could be considered to be the greatest to have ever come out of India. Much like Einstein is the Gold standard; and considered to be the greatest mind in science to have come out of Europe.

My question is........Are Osho's ideas greater than the Gita? JC? Bhudda? Muhammad? I don't believe Osho came up with original thoughts, he just stood on the shoulder's of giants like Einstein; and synthesized them. I am aware that its considered irreverent and overtly sacrilideous by outer circles to remotely assert so much credibility, but if you consider him to be the existentialist's existentialist; please judge for yourself. There, I said it. Have I gone out on a Shirley McClain limb???? I know it makes me look like a Kool Aid drinker, but his literature is very simple and empowering.

It would take a staff of Univ Professors to accumulate and synthesize the knowledge that he has. For the life of me, I don't understand how Osho's literature does not overshadow his Antelope Ashram fiasco. But, then Nietzsche's reference to the masses and the marketplace falls into play.

The reason why I have so many of Osho's books is that in future years someone is going to bring attention to his teachings and methods and the books will sky rocket in value. Like a 1959 Gibson Les Paul.

Some original thoughts that Osho came up with were originally bad. Like driving on the wrong side of the road, and other nabs which were intended to force people to think. Acting on Nostrodamus, Ashram birth control, Nitrous Oxide/Valium and hiring Sheela. But those mistakes are what make him human. He did not even acknowlege himself as a scholar whom he despised or a philospher (which he had degrees in) but rather a psychologist.

Osho just might be the "master of all masters" when in comes to those who have been sharers of the "way," of awakening, or of enlightenment - all the same. "His books" are actually audiotape recordings from when he used to speak, so when you read his words, they really are "his words."

Osho tells you no lies; he only speaks the truth, and for some this is a hard pill to swallow. Some will instantly throw it back up in disgust; some will struggle, but digest it nonetheless; and some will embrace it as pure nourishment, even if it causes pain. Usually those with closed, dogmatic minds find him offensive, but for those who are true "seekers" of truth - those who question and have open minds - Osho will be your completion. One cannot give an accurate or adequate review of this man's insight. His words are something that can only be experienced.

I can only guarantee you one thing: if you read Osho with an open mind he will change your life.

- Peace and love in Oneness

Quite simply, this book was a catalyst for the transformation of myself, the removal of many things that caused suffering and difficulty in my life.

Osho is a very good author to read if, like me you are a westerner (or more specifically American). I have read other excellent books on Buddhism, but Osho's writing style is so digestible, so accessible to the western mind that I would suggest this book specifically for anyone looking for an introduction to Buddhism. I found his instruction to be a practical way to apply these truths in my own life.

The beautiful photography on nearly every page also soothes, and I found that having eye candy like this made it easier to keep my attention on this very intense subject.

But this book for anyone who seeks truth.

The authors have managed to extract the very pith of the Buddha's teaching and presented in way that is both informative and challenging. Given the potential complexity of the subject matter, this is an extraordinary achievement. Any reference to extraneous issues has been eschewed and the 'plain facts' of the title turn out to be the only facts needed to come to a complete understanding of the path to enlightenment. Highly recommended.

Bouddhism, plain facts explains you the precepts of Buddha, in a plain and simple language, always going back to down to earth explanation, without jargon, or a lingo to difficult. This book is a great start for anyone who wants to know more about The Buddha, and the meanings of his teaching. It explains clearly Buddhism is a personal quest. Very good, simple and well written.

This elegant book is the ideal volume for anyone who wants to know about Buddhist meditation - from hesitant enquirer to committed meditator. I first read it on a six day meditation retreat and was bowled over by its lack of jargon and they way it deals with the path to enlightenment in every-day language. The short chapters make it easy to dip into. But then it is difficult to stop reading, as each page has some really useful advice or brilliant observation on every aspect of the path. It is obviously written by people who write from many years experience of meditation and meditators, and who know all the pitfalls and all the joys of following the Buddha's path to enlightenment. If you want to do away with suffering - read it!

Here is my review from my blog, [...]

I just finished an awesome little book about one woman's spiritual struggle and adventure in the 1940s & 50s in Chicago. Her name is Genie Price and she became somewhat famous from her writing and radio work.

She had been living her own self-centered life, and always did things to extremes--she sounds so much like me! But the Lord found her, and even though she fought at first, she eventually found Him and found Life. Then she and a friend spent several intense months just learning all about the Lord and what it means to literally take Him at His word. They spent their mornings in Bible Study, prayer and silence before the Lord. Then they spent hours reading saints' works (Thomas A. Kempis, Brother Lawrence, John Wesley, etc. and many current Christian writers). They spent their afternoons in intercession (praying for others). And the Lord led them on the most adventurous life ever, working everything out for good, even their struggles.

If you can get hold of this book, I highly recommend it. This is the kind of life I seek--His Life, where I totally and completely belong to Him, and not one bit to myself. Lead me, Lord!

I have enjoyed Eugenia Price's historical fiction over the years and was very interested in her spiritual autobiography. This book is very easy to read and interestingly presented. It is very inspirational to me as a Christian and challenges me to more fully take God at His word.

The reality of what a carnal Christian I have been was made clear to me after reading this book. The solutions offered according to God's Word were brought home to me in such a delightful way and is helping to bring about change in my day-to-day life.

It seemed I could not grasp the reality of the truth that when I became a Christian-(born again), Christ really did come to live in me and I in Him. Eugenia Price makes it more plain to understand God's Word that says we must "die" to self daily and allow Christ that lives in us to grow. "As we decrease...He increases."

Before reading this book, it seemed like I was often defeated in my Christian walk, but now with an increased understanding of my Savior and our walk together, I am taking baby steps at living a more victorious life in Him as I am learning to trust Him more and more.

Trying to live a life centered on love of Christ, and open to his gifts, is not an easy challenge in today's busy world. This new edition of Fr. Basil Pennington's CALL TO THE CENTER is just what I have been looking for as the next book selection for our centering prayer support group. The chapters are short--excellent for an evening's discussion. It is written in a conversational style, but filled with insights for deepening prayer, and helps for avoiding some of the common difficulties. This is a book that can be read and re-read. Fr. Basil's enthusiasm and genuine love for centering prayer will certainly be an inspiration to those new to this form of prayer, and an encouragement for those who have been following the Gospel's invitation to deeper prayer--the book's subtitle--in the years since, as Fr. Basil reminds us, the "Second Vatican Council has made it most clear that all are called to intimate holiness, to the joy of contemplative union with the Lord."

Call To The Center: The Gospel's Invitation To Deeper Prayer is a collection of meditations by M. Basil Pennington (a Cistercian monk of St. Joseph's Abby in Spencer, Massachusetts) on the Gospel of Matthew. This reflections fairly reverberate with an abiding faith and the power of opening one's heart to God. Light, duty, faith, and reverence form core principles in this enlightening work which is a very highly recommended addition to Christian Studies reading lists and library collections.

The book's title says it all: it is something like a hearing aid, helping us listen to the Gospels with the ears of our hearts. Pennington is so deeply experienced and so learned in this subject that he speaks with supreme authority. He is a teacher to be trusted.
This book will be both a guide for beginners and support for those far along the way of prayer. It will be much loved.

This is a great devotional that, not only helps in increasing biblical understanding, but is a good day-to-day read which increases understanding on how we should live as christians. That is one thing that I love about Bishop Long's teaching is how he stresses obedience to God through biblical mandates. This is a must read for anyone who believes in the above statements and living for the Kingdom of God.

This is the best devotional next to Oswald Chambers. It has challenged me over and over again to live higher, go higher for the Lord. In addition to The Bible, it has broken a lot of wrong thinking off of me. He's very bold and up front with what God has to say. I'm so thankful that this devotion doesn't leave any outs for us!

I feast from this guide daily as part of my daily devotion with the Lord. After reading his book, "I Don't Want Delilah...", I wanted to hear more of Bishop Long's ministry. Each day I read the devotional, I receive another edifying jolt to DO God's Word. Because the devotional also reminds me how precious I am to God, I value my life and the lives of others, even more.

Each message holds its own anointing, and every day of reading enhances my life just a little more than the day before. I have never had the opportnity to hear Bishop Long in person, but I can only imagine that his live messages must be astounding because the anointing is certainly evident in his writing. Thank you Bishop Long for obeying God and putting your messages in print for others (believers desiring God's will) outside your church.

I have purchased this book for others and will continue to read it throughout the years to come!